Maize value addition project

Entrepreneur

About Me

My Name is Allan Gicharu Nganga. I am Married and a father of 3 kids 1 boy and 2 girls.
I live in outskirts of Thika town, a place called Muthaara.

My Business

My business involves dealing with maize. In Kenya we call it poshomill. I buy maize in 90 kg bags from the local market and process it using maize milling machines to produce maize flour.
There are 3 grades of maize flour that I produce. They are named as follows.
1) Ordinary. This is processed using simple hammer Mill machine. The whole grain is converted to flour then sold.
2) Special . There is more process here. The grain is separated from the husk and milled using the hammer Mill to make a more refined flour , then sold locally.
3) Grade 1. This the flour that is very refined and can be packaged and sold to bigger markets and supermarkets.

My dream is to grow this business Ina way to reach the bigger regional market. Maize flour is a key commodity in Kenya with very high demand by every house hold.

Currently I have three separate business sites that process the flour and sell onsite.

The 3rd is located where I live and attended by my wife. I needed a capital boost to install the roller mill machine since there are many farmers here who have to go long distances to get the grade 1 unga.
The Roller mill + precrusher machine costs shs 400,000 - 450 ,000 using single phase motors.
With a loan amount of kes 400,000 I can be able to aquire this machine and mill grade 1 flour for the locals. I will also be able to grow the business and create employment for myself and local youth.

Project Proposal

A bag of maize for processing to flour costs 3500 shs. Currently I am purchasing from local farmers instead of going to the market where I incur transport costs of at least shs 300 / bag. This erodes my profit margin very much. With these funds I will be able to purchase at least 4 more bags of maize am able to stabilize my flour production and build up the profit level to invest in more stock.
This is inturn helping local farmers to find a market for their farm produce, feed their families and also send their children to school.

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